The Great Train Robbery
|season = 5 |number = 5 |overall = 132 |production = 5-05 / 132 |imdb = tt0609361 |airdate = October 31, 1955 |writer = Bob Carroll Jr. Madelyn Pugh Bob Schiller Bob Weiskopf |director = James V. Kern |previous = "Ricky Sells The Car" |next = "Homecoming" |image = |imagewidth = 300px}} http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/PorterSam.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/DiningCar.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/EmergencyBrake.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/TrainFood.jpg The Great Train Robbery was the 132nd overall episode of I Love Lucy, also the 5th episode of season 5 of the series. The episode, was directed by James V. Kern, originally aired on CBS-TV on October 31, 1955. Synopsis Lucy gets mixed up with a jewel thief on a cross-country rail trip that marks the end of the series' Hollywood sojourn. That's not the only reason it's a bumpy ride. Another is that Lucy keeps pulling the emergency-brake cord. Sanka Coffee was a background image with the credits. Plot summary While on the train ride home to New York, Lucy hears about a jewel thief on the loose. When she sees lots of expensive jewelry in the next compartment, she assumes that the guy is the jewel thief. In reality, he's a jeweler. The real jewel thief pretends to want to help Lucy catch the jeweler, and he ends up getting Lucy involved in stealing the jeweler's diamonds! Lucy saves the day by actually pulling the emergency brake for an appropriate reason for once. Trivia *Sam the train porter is the only African-American actor ever shown on I Love Lucy. Sam was played by Sam McDaniels, the older brother of Hattie McDaniels, otherwise known as Mammy in Gone with the Wind. *In the original broadcast, there was a scene where we get to see Ethel and Fred actually go into the dining car. This scene was cut after filming, but the DVD restored it. The reason the scene was cut was because the train is supposed to still be in the station when the Mertzes enter the dining car. But there is obvious movement in the train window's in the scene. *The Ricardos and Mertzes ended up staying in Hollywood for a whopping ten months. The trip was originally only supposed to be a month! *After this episode aired, J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI at the time, sent a very nice letter to Lucy. He said how he thought this episode was the most hilarious one ever, and he loved hearing his name referenced in the episode. *The Ricardos have one compartment, and Little Ricky and Mrs. McGillicuddy are in a compartment two over from Lucy and Ricky's. While we get to see some upper berths on the train's set, we never get to see where the Mertzes stayed. *The train set was made on gigantic springs that would lurch the actors forward whenever the emergency brake was pulled. *Mr. Estes is the name of the jeweler on the train who Lucy mistakes for the jewel thief. *Ethel owns an opal brooch, and she hurriedly tries to hide it when she finds out there's a jewel thief on the train. Starring *Lucille Ball ... as Lucy Ricardo *Desi Arnaz ... as Ricky Ricardo *Vivian Vance ... as Ethel Mertz *William Frawley ... as Fred Mertz Guest starring *Joseph and Michael Mayer ... as Little Ricky *Harry Bartell ... as Jewel Thief *Hazel Boyne ... as Passenger *Kathryn Card ... as Mrs. McGillicuddy (Lucy's mother) *Joseph Crehan ... as Thief with Gun *Lou Krugman ... as Jewelry Salesman *Frank Nelson ... as Conductor *Louis Nicoletti ... as Newspaper reporter *Hazel Pierce ... as 2nd Passanger Category:Episodes Category:Season 5 Episodes